shut out

I don't know how this happened. I've become locked out of my blog. I changed the title a bit and now I cannot find how to open the blog again to make some changes. this tools part is the only entrance and I am trying to widen it. Ric.

"I saw the land very clearly, but it was a case of so near and yet so far, as the winds blowing against us could no more approach Botany Bay and pass through the heads to anchor than a man can climb a greasy pole."
Captain Phillip - HMS SUPPLY January 13 1788 ********************************************************************************** "Today the long awaited day eventually came as Supply hauled into Botany Bay. At three, Lt. Dawes, King and myself and some officers on the Supply landed on the north side . . . We observed some natives. I think it is easy to conceive the ridiculous figure we must appear to these poor creatures, who are perfectly naked." Captain Phillip - 18 January 1788
Floating Brothel. http://members.tripod.com/arlindo_correia/060502.html

"This is our country, this is our home, This is our future, this is our hope, A land of reaping, a land of harvest, This is our land, this is our home." Geoff Bullock

The Ships of the First Fleet.....On Sunday 13th May, 1787 eleven small ships carrying about 1,500 people set sail from Portsmouth, England on an epic voyage of over 13,000 miles (20,900 k kilometres) and founded t First Fleet resources on the Internet"http://www.pcug.org.au/~pdownes/dps/1stflt.htm -First Fleet 1788http://yarra.vicnet.net.au/~firstff/list.htm- The Provisions Carried by the First Fleet http://home.vicnet.net.au/~firstff/welcome.htmFirst Fleet Fellowship - Ships and Voyage, Pictures and history of the ships of the First Fleet, and how to become a member if your ancestors arrived on the First Fleet. Genealogical Societies with special First Fleet interests. Fellowship of First Fleeters.105 Cathedral St.,Woolloomooloo,Sydney, NSW 2011 AustraliaPhone: (02) 9360 3788. The 1788-1820 Pioneer AssociationP.O. Box 57, Croydon,NSW 2132 AustraliaPhone (02) 9797 8107 Descendants of Convicts Group.P.O. Box 12224, A'Beckett St.,Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia First Fleet Fellowship Vic Inc.http://home.vicnet.net.au/~firstff/First Fleet FellowshipC/- Polly Woodside Maritime ParkLorimer Street East Southbank Victoria 3000 Australia Ph: (03) 9370 9590
The nation of "Australia." *

http://members.pcug.org.au/~pdownes/Alexander (Barque-built)- Convict Transport - 453 Tons (ref a) 452 (ref k), 114 ft. (34.75m.) long and 31 ft.(9.5m) at the beam. Deptford survey in October 1786 recorded her measurements of 7'3" between decks afore, 6'11" midships and abaft. Carried: Crew ± 30 + 20 others + 195 male convicts. (245) (ref *) Lt. P. G King's Journal states there was 30 Seamen, 35 Marines and 194 Convicts (259) 14? Skippered by: Master Duncan Sinclair - Owner: William Walton & Co. Built as a 3 master-square rig, 1 quarter deck ± 114 x 31ft and 2 decks without galleries or figurehead, and was registered at Hull in 1783. The largest ship of the fleet, and little is known after her return to England and disappeared from records in 1808. Borrowdale Store Ship - 272 Tons (a) 275 (k), ref 175-ft. (22.7m.) long and 22-ft. (6.7m.) beam. Deptford survey in 1785 recorded her 272k. Height between decks after 5'8", midships 5'9", abaft 6'9" Carried: 20 crew + 4 others. (24) (ref *) Lt. P. G King's Journal states 22 men. Skippered by: Master Readthorn Hobson Reed. Built at Sunderland in 1785. Very little is known of this ship's history and she disappeared from records after returning to England. Charlotte Convict Transport - 346 Tons (a) 335 (k), 105-ft. (32m.) long and 28-ft. (8.5m.) beam. When surveyed at Deptford Yard on 3 November 1786 measured 6'6' afore, amid and abaft and weighed 345 tons. Carried: Crew ± 30 + 45 others + 88 male and 20 female convicts. (183) (ref *) Lt. P. G King's Journal states 30 Seamen, 42 Marines, 86 Male and 20 Female Convicts. (178) Skippered by: Master Thomas Gilbert (qv) Built in 1784, A three masted fully square rigged with neither galleries or figurehead, whereabouts not known After her return to England she was sold to a Quebec merchant in 1818 and was lost off the coast of Newfoundlands in Nov. 1818Fishburn Store Ship - 378 Tons (a) (k), 103 ft. (31.4m) long, 29 ft. (8.8m) beam, According to her 1786 Deptford survey, was 6'1' between decks afore, 5'9' midships and 7'1' abaft Carried 28 people. (ref *) Lt. P. G King's Journal states 22 Men Skippered by: Master Robert Brown, Owner: Leighton Co. Built at Whitby in 1780. Like the other store ships, after her epic voyage, she returned to England and disappeared from records. Friendship Convict Transport - 278 Tons (a) 274 (k) 75 ft. (22.9m.) long, 23 ft. (7.0m.) beam, carried 73 people + 76 male and 21 female convicts. (170) (ref *) Lt. P. G King's Journal states 25 Seamen, 40 Marines, 76 and 21 Female Convicts (162)Skippered by: Master Francis Walton, Little is known about where and when the Scarborough was built c. 1784 During her return voyage to England her crew came down with scurvy Ref. 3 and with insufficient crew to man her she was scuttled and sunk in the Straits of Macassar 28 Oct 1788 Golden Grove Store Ship - 331 Tons (a) 375 (k), 103-ft. (31.4m.) long, 29-ft. (8.8m.) beam, carried 27 people. (ref *) Lt. P. G King's Journal states 22 Men Skippered by: Master Sharp, Owner: Leighton Co. Built at Whitby in 1780 The Golden Grove had the distinction of carrying the Reverend and his wife to the Colony. Returned to England to work the London - Jamaica run and disappeared from records after 1804.Lady Penrhyn Convict Transport - 338 Tons (a) 333 (k), 103 ft. (31.4m.) long and 27 ft. (8.23m.) beam, carried 82 people + 101 female convicts. (183) (ref *) Lt. P. G King's Journal states 30 Seamen, 3 Officers of Ms and 101 Female Convicts (134) Skippered by: Master William Sever built at the Thames in 1786. Returned to England and put on the London - Jamaica run and was captured in 1811 in the west Indies. .Prince of Wales Convict Transport - 334 (a) Tons 350 (k), 103 ft. (31.4m.) long, 29 ft. (8.8m.) beam and carried 90 people + 49 female and 1 male convicts. (140) (ref *) Lt. P. G King's Journal states [*] Seamen 29 Mars, 2 Male 47 Female Convicts (78) Skippered by: Master John Mason built at the Thames in 1786. After her return to England she operated there until 1797 when her registration was transferred to Fort Royal, Martinique after which little is known Scarborough Convict Transport - 418 Tons (a) 430 (k), 111 ft. (33.8m.) long, 30 ft. (9.1m.) beam and carried 54 people + 208 male convicts (262) Lt. P. G King's Journal states 30 Seaman, 44 Marines and 205 Male Convicts (279) (ref *) Skippered by: Master John Marshall - Owners: Thomas George & John Hopper Built at Scarborough in 1782. The "Scarborough" sailed back to England and returned to Port Jackson in the Second Fleet in June 1800. She was the only ship of the First Fleet to return to Australia apart from the "Sirius" and the "Supply" which sailed to Cape Town and back. The "Scarborough" was eventually broken up in 1798 H.M.S. Supply (armed render) - Brig - 170 Tons (k), 70 ft. (21.3m.) long and 26 ft. (7.92m) beam, 8 Guns and carried 50 people. (ref *) Lt. P. G King's Journal states 50 Men Skippered by: Henry Lidgbird Ball Little is known about this brig's early history. It appears she was built in America about 1759 and was commissioned by the Admiralty in October 1786. The smallest ship of the fleet, but the fastest, she led the fleet during most of the arduous voyage. Arrived at Botany Bay on the 18th January 1788 after a journey of 182 days. The "Supply" remained as one of colony's ships and was eventually broken up in Port Jackson in 1807. H.M.S. Sirius : (Armed Flag Ship) - 540 Tons (k), 110 ft. (33.5m.), 32 ft. (9.8m.) beam, 20 guns, and carried 180 people. (ref *1) Built with 3 Masts- Mainmast 77'7", Foremast 70'7", Mizenmast 66'8" having 8 main Yards sizes ranging from 56'3" to 26'3", Bowsprit (front pointing boom) 47'10", Flying Jib Boom (rear boom) 35'10" NOTE: Any picture with any more or less than 8 mail sails with cross Yards, is not a true account in picture of the Sirius. Refs *4Armament: Sixteen 6-pounder carriage guns, six 18-pounder carronades and eight swivel guns. 200 short land muskets and 12 sergeants carbines. Ship's Company: 3 Captains, 3 Lieutenants, 1 Master, 1 Boatswain, 1 Carpenter, 1 gunner, 1 Surgeon, 3 Master's Mates, 9 Midshipmen, 2 Surgeon's Mates, 1 Captain's clerk, 1 Master at Arms, 1 Corporal, 1 Armourer, 3 do Mates, 1 Sail Maker, 1 Perser, 1 do Steward, 3 Boatswain's Mates. 3 do Carpenters, 2 do Gunners, 6 Carpenter's crew, 1 Cook, 1 Coxswain, 6 Quarter Masters, 4 Quarter Gunners, 79 Seaman, 22 Marines, 1 Subaltern, 1 Sergeant, 1 Corporal, 1 Drummer, Total 160, but at a muster at sea in August 1787 a total of 136 men could be found on board. Skippered by: Captain John Hunter. Built in 1780 as the "Berwick" for the East India trade. She was badly burnt in a fire and was bought and rebuilt by the Navy in 1786 and renamed "Sirius". Sirius's hull was well built of teakwood and her bottom was covered in copper. She was painted bright yellow with a broad black band near the waterline. After her arrival in Port Jackson she remained as a supply ship and sailed to the Cape of Good Hope in October 1788 to obtain food supplies for the starving colony. After returning, she was eventually wrecked off Norfolk Island during a gale on the 14th April 1790.
26 Jan 1788 Botany BayLA BOUSSOLE (Compass) - Master: Jean François de la PerouseL'ASTROLABE - Master: Captain de Clonard. Footnotes:Many books, charts and pictures have shown the Borrowdale as 372 tons when fact she was only 272 tons (a). As such, many pictures have shown her as 3 Masted, when in fact she was about the same length as the Friendship. - H.M.S. Supply, Friendship have been drawn with 2 main masts. ref *1 Shipping Arrivals & Departures Sydney, 1788-1825 by J.S.Cumpston, Published 1977, Canberra, National Library of Australia. From: "An account of English Colony in New South Wales" By Lt. Colonel David Collins Vol I The number of Convicts given, are usually the numbers landed in Sydney. 2 One of Australia's Great Artist - Mr Frank Allen was a self-taught artist, who was brought up on an island off the Queensland coast and spent most of his younger years at sea where he developed a fascination for old sailing ships. Whilst later working life has been spent as a commercial artist, his spare time has been devoted to the study of Maritime history. The project of painting the ships of the First Fleet involved many long hours of research and hundreds of sketches, before pencil was transformed to watercolour. No plans or draughts, apart from H.M.S. (His/Her Majesty Ship) Sirius and Supply, these having been bought by the Navy - records have survived over 200 years and still exists. The other 9 merchant ships had no central body to keep details at that time. Throughout 2 years of study history books and sketching details. It was possible to build a fairly accurate picture of shipbuilding of that period. In some instances, as in the case of the "Borrowdale" it was not possible to determine, even though this research, as to whether it had a figurehead, scroll-head or neither. As a consequence, it was painted in stern view, so as not be historically misleading. With this information at hand it was possible to depict accurately the people on board in correct perspective to the ship's size and makes one realise how unbelievably courageous the forefathers of Australia were.Convicts, Children, Marines & Crews We mermaids are tired of being sex symbols. Overfishing is endangering our sisterhood and water babies. http://www.nla.gov.au/exhibitions/georgeraper/maps/maps.htmMaps of First Fleet ***

The organisation at the ports charged with obtaining seamen was known as the Impress Service. The Impress service was limited to seizing men who were seamen, a word given a broad interpretation. The age limits were set at 18 to 55 years of age, frequently these limits were ignored. The word 'press' itself was a corruption, in regular use at the end of the Eighteenth Century, of the word prest. It came from the old French prest which was a loan or advance. A man paid the Kings shilling to enlist became an imprest or prest man. The Impress Service covered every port in Great Britain. Each major port had a captain in charge, while smaller ports had a lieutenant. These officers were rarely seagoing men, and often this was the only alternative to being on half pay. The senior officer was known as the Regulating Officer, and the headquarters chosen was called the Rendezvous. Having set up the Rendezvous, the Regulating officer would then hire some of the local hard men as 'gangers', to form the Press Gang (on land the press gang was rarely formed by sailors).

Being one of the gangers was perhaps the only sure fire way of not being pressed. The Gang was then sent out and roamed the surrounding countryside in search of suitable recruits.The gang were paid money for travel, 3d per mile for officers 1d for men, and money per man pressed, anything up to 10 shillings. The scope for corruption was large, many men would bribe their way out of the gangs clutches, for a prosperous man a £10 bribe to the press gang was a small price to pay for his continued liberty.

The press was not new at the time of theNapoleonic wars, it had been in existence in one form or another for centuries, and slowly certain rules had evolved about thetaking of men for service at sea. Merchant ships provided obvious targets for the press gang and captains would board merchant ships to take off any men he might want, officers and apprentices were exempt. Many merchant captains built hideaways for one or two particularly valuable men to hide in if the press gang came aboard. The rule was that the captain had to leave enough men on board to 'navigate the ship', again a phrase open to wide interpretation.

*Although the system of impressment seems harsh and arbitrary to us now, at the time it was accepted if not popular. The civil authorities on shore would often do everything in their power to disrupt the operations of the Press Gang. Many men were pressed into service, and reading their descriptions we can see that once caught they usually accepted their fate with equanimity, at least until they had a chance to escape. The Navy knew that the chances of a man running were highest at the start of his service, desertion rates progressively dropped off up to 18 months in service. After 18 months the desertion rate was very low. If a man deserted his ship an R was put against his name for Run. Avoidance of the Press Gang was a practiced art form and they were unlikely to pick up many men by storming around a town flaming brands in hand. Running battles were frequently fought between the Press Gang and locals, often trying to retrieve a man captured An example of a press warrant, issued to a ships captain in 1809 by the Gang.

Please note: Some internet providers including Internet Explorer and even Firefox seem to delete aspects of my blogs. I have found only one, CHROME to be satisfactory.Please down load CHROME in a couple of minutes (free). thank you (Ric)

Do you know?

Crimes punishable by transportation included recommending that politicians get paid, starting a union, stealing fish from a river or pond, embezzlement, receiving or buying stolen goods, setting fire to underwood, petty theft, or being suspected of supporting Irish terrorism.

The song made famous by the late Slim Dusty, was first written in the original Day Dawn Hotel in Ingham in north Queensland in 1943, by an Irish cane cutter Dan Sheahan, after some American soldiers drank the pub dry the previous night. > >

Australian Outback .

Aus­tral­ia may need an in­fu­sion of ele­phants and oth­er large mam­mals to solve its per­sist­ent ec­o­log­i­cal and wild­fire prob­lems, a sci­ent­ist pro­poses.

Ecol­o­gist Da­vid Bow­man of the Uni­vers­ity of Tas­ma­nia in Aus­tral­ia cites out-of-con­trol fires and bur­geon­ing fe­ral-animal popula­t­ions as quan­daries af­flict­ing the Land Down Un­der. Both could be solved by in­tro­duc­ing large mam­mals, as well as pay­ing ab­o­rig­i­nal hunters to con­trol the fe­ral an­i­mals and re­store the old prac­tice of patch burn­ing, he ar­gues. Patch burn­ing is a form of con­trolled burn­ing in­tend­ed to clean out and re­new bio­lo­gical re­sources.

“I real­ize that there are ma­jor risks as­so­ci­at­ed with what I am propos­ing,” as any tin­ker­ing with the en­vi­ron­ment can lead to un­planned con­se­quenc­es, said Bow­ma­n. “But the usu­al ap­proaches to ma­n­ag­ing these is­sues aren’t work­ing.”

Bow­man de­scribes his idea in this week’s is­sue of the re­search jour­nalNa­ture.

Feb. 7 will mark the three-year an­ni­ver­sa­ry of “Black Sat­ur­day,” when nearly 200 peo­ple died in a mas­sive fire­storm in south­ern Aus­tral­ia. Fires are a con­stant con­cern in the con­ti­nent, said Bow­ma­n, but so are its thriv­ing popula­t­ions of fe­ral pigs, camels, hors­es and cat­tle, among oth­ers.

Bow­man pro­poses to ma­n­age Aus­tral­ia’s trou­bled ec­o­sys­tem by in­tro­duc­ing beasts such as ele­phants, rhi­noc­er­os and even Ko­modo drag­ons. These would help con­sume flam­ma­ble grasses and con­trol fe­ral-animal popula­t­ions, he ar­gues.

The larg­est liv­ing land mam­mal na­tive to Aus­tral­ia is the red kan­ga­roo, which as an adult weighs about as much as an av­er­age ma­n. Larg­er mam­mals used to roam the con­ti­nent—such as a hippo-sized mar­su­pi­al re­lat­ed to the wom­bat and called di­pro­to­don, from the Great Ice Age—but they are no more.

The de­lib­er­ate in­tro­duc­tion by hu­ma­ns of po­pu­lations of over­sized, non-na­tive mam­mals to a new conti­nent would be un­prec­e­dent­ed in modern times. One group, though, has pro­posed in­tro­duc­ing large Af­ri­can mam­mals in­to the Great Plains of the Un­ited States, for some­what diff­erent rea­sons than those moti­vating Bow­man.

Carol Baxter is my distant cousin. She has not directly contributed to this weblog, and has not ever in fact acknowledged its existence, but because of the valuable information I received from reading her website about our family, I am very indebted to her.

Another family website helped me considerably. This was "Our Williams Story" by another distant cousin, Kieran Williams

I am heartened by the many emerging websites about the descendants of William Nash and Maria Haynes.

Then there are the many threads from Monaro Pioneers.

Thank you for all the sources.

I am hoping that when I am no longer able to continue (being nearly 79) that someone else wll pick up the ball and continue my blog.Of course I have included my political views and my non-religious attitudes because they are part of me and readers do not have to accept them, but may actually learn a little from them.

William Nash came to Australia as a Marine with the First Fleet 1788William and Mariah's first child, William, was baptised on Sunday 25th May 1788A wedding was celebrated at St Phillip's, Sydney, on 13 February 1789, between William Nash, a marine, and Maria Haynes, a convict, in the presence of Elizabeth Gratten and Samuel Barnes (Chaplain's clerk)Mariah Haynes is not listed in John Cobley's 'Crimes of the First Fleet Convicts'By 1803 William & Maria had separated, and she took the children with her. Maria later became associated with two other men, Robert Guy and in 1816, with William Neale.

6 Children

1. William Nash born on 25 May 1788, buried on Friday 19th June 1789, a marine's child.2. John Nash baptised 15 Jan 1792 (a family source names him William)3. Mary Nash born 2 March 1793 and baptised 2 April4. William Nash born 27 March 1795 and baptised 4 May5. George Nash born 26 July 17976. Sarah Nash was born 16 Nov 1798

6. Sarah Nash 16 Nov 1798 wed on the 15th January 1814 at St John's, Parramatta, to John Williams (a convict), 13 children

On 25th April 2010 Stephen Hawking, leading academic and cosmologist, told the Sunday Times: “We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn’t want to meet. I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonise whatever planets they can reach.” He also points out that making contact with aliens could be very risky, stating: “If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans.”

John Kerswell: A Welsh plasterer transported in 1828 at the age of 20 years to 15 years for stealing. Absconding four times and charged with being drunk three times, granted ToL in 1856 and Conditional Pardon in 1857. However, he received 20 years imprisonment for attempting to stab a policeman. He was released from Port Arthur in 1875.

William Forster: At age 17 years was transported for ten years for stealing a box writing desk. Misdemeanour followed misdemeanour and sentence added to sentence until in 1864 he was sentnenced to life for robbery under arms. The last mention of him is in 1872 when he was sent to the Separate Prison for misconduct.

Alexander Woods: A soldier with the 17th Regiment, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Woods (aged 30) was transported from Canada to Port Arthur for 14 years for desertion.Returned to Hobart with a ToL in 1853 but returned to PA again in 1865 for 15 years for burglary. He was a church attendant in 1869 and was discharged in 1875.

Old houses West End Vancouver B.C.

Read Dallas Darling and other prominent thinkers.

(Dallas Darling is the author of Politics 501: An A-Z Reading on Conscientious Political Thought and Action, Some Nations Above God: 52 Weekly Reflections On Modern-Day Imperialism, Militarism, And Consumerism in the Context of John's Apocalyptic Vision, and The Other Side Of Christianity: Reflections on Faith, Politics, Spirituality, History, and Peace. He is a correspondent for www.worldnews.com. You can read more of Dallas' writings at www.beverlydarling.com and wn.com//dallasdarling.)

Old Harry Williams was asked how was it that the long list of Williams lead by far those of Nash over the last couple of hundred years.

"Well, let's see.Them Nashes they was more posh and they kept the family bible, so we lot had nothing to read at night.There was no T.V. in them days, and we didn't want to waste candles, so we used to all jump in bed together and make more Williams's."

Australia. The first fleet sailed from England in 1787 carrying marine William Nash and his common law wife Maria Haynes. They were the progenitors of an extensive Nash family in Australia. Another early settler was Andrew Nash. He had acquired the Woolpack Inn in Parramatta in 1821 and became well-known for the prowess of his racehorses. A later settler from Wiltshire was James Nash. He discovered gold along the Mary river in Queenland and helped precipitate the second Australian gold rush.

There were also Nash convicts in Australia. Some thrived; Robert Nash, transported on the Albemarle in 1791; John Nash on the Eleanor in 1831; and Michael Nash from Limerick, on the Rodney in 1851.

Neither here nor there.

If a man was on an escalator, but walking back down it and the elevator was located in a revolving restaurant on a large airliner going in a southerly direction and the earth was revolving on its axis and at the same time was travelling in an elliptical path around the sun, which was travelling around the galaxy, which was expanding......how many movements was the man travelling in?

Wild man of North Australia.

I met Michael (Tarzan) Fomenko(shown here at 81 years) son of a Russian Princess when I was 18 and he was twenty. He was a handsome young man. I was in love with his sister Nina Fomenko, who was gracious to me but held my ardour at arms' length. In later years I met her in North Queensland where she and her husband Brian Patrick Donnellan were cutting cane. They had no mattress to sleep on, so I bought them one. Nina was always beautiful. (Ric)

Toonoom FallsSituated in the heart of Royal National Park to the south of Sydney, Toonoum Falls is a pretty, 5 metre high waterfall alongside Sir Bertram Steven Drive not far from the Garie turnoff. The photo shows the falls in flood.Location: Royal National Park.

In the fifties, I lived close to here in a rock shelter once used by Aborigines. I used to swim in this creek a little further down the hill. My family thought I was crazy and I probably was, but life here on the edge of the National Park was idyllic if you could bear the flies, mosquitoes, snakes and centipedes.. (Ric)

HMSSirius, the main Naval ship with the First Fleet, under Captain John Hunter RN.Had been built in 1780 as Berwick for the East Indies run, badly burned in a fire, and rebuilt by Navy, renamed Sirius, finally wrecked off Norfolk Island on the 14th. of April 1790.

*The Australian Lyre Bird is the world's best imitator; able to mimic the calls of 15 different species of birds in their locality and string the calls into a melody. Also been known to mimic the sound mobile phones.

*The echidna is such a unique animal that it is classified in a special class of mammals known asmonotremes, which it shares only with the platypus. The echidna lays eggs like a duck but suckles its young in a pouch like a kangaroo. For no apparent reason, it may decide to conserve energy by dropping its body temperature to 4 degrees and remain at that temperature from 4 to 120 days. Lab experiments have shown that the echidna is more intelligent that a cat and it has been seen using its spikes, feet and beaks to climb up crevices like a mountaineer edging up a rock chimney.

*Kangaroos need very little water to survive and are capable of going for months without drinking at all. When they do need water, they dig 'wells' for themselves; frequently going as deep as three or four feet. These 'kangaroo pits' are a common source of water for other animals living in the kangaroo's environment.

*A kangaroo being chased by a dog may jump into a dam. If the dog gives chase, the kangaroo may turn towards the dog, then use its paws to push the dogs head underwater in order to drown it.

*Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards, and are on the Australian coat of arms for that reason.

*A monotreme is a animal that lays eggs and suckles its young. The world's only monotremes are the platypus and the echidna.

*The male platypus has a poisonous spine that can kill a dog and inflict immense pain on a human.

*When a specimen of the platypus was first sent to England, it was believed the Australians had played a joke by sewing the bill of a duck onto a rat.

*Box Jelly fish - The box jellyfish is considered the world's most venomous marine creature. The box jellyfish has killed more people in Australia than stonefish, sharks and crocodiles combined.

*The Sydney Funnelweb spider is considered the world's most deadly spider. It is the only spider that has killed people in less than 2 hours. Its fangs are powerful enough to bite through gloves and fingernails. The only animals without immunity to the funnelweb's venom are humans and monkeys.

*Lung fish - Queensland is home to lung fish, a living fossil from the Triassic period 350 million years ago.

Convicts

*It is estimated that by the time transportation ended in 1868, 40 per cent of Australia's English-speaking population were convicts.*A census taken in 1828 found that half the population of NSW were Convicts, and that former Convicts made up nearly half of the free population.

*In 2007, it was estimated that 22 per cent of living Australians had a convict ancestor.

*Convicts were not sent to Australia for serious crimes. Serious crimes, such as murder, rape, or impersonating an Egyptian were given the death sentence in England.

*Crimes punishable by transportation included recommending that politicians get paid, starting a union, stealing fish from a river or pond, embezzlement, receiving or buying stolen goods, setting fire to underwood, petty theft, or being suspected of supporting Irish terrorism.

* Alcohol- It has been reported that the first European settlers in Australia drank more alcohol per head of population than any other community in the history of mankind.

* Police force - Australia's first police force was a band of 12 of the most well behaved Convicts.

* Mass moonings - In 1832, 300 female Convicts at the Cascade Female Factory mooned the Governor of Tasmania during a chapel service. It was said that in a "rare moment of collusion with the Convict women, the ladies in the Governor's party could not control their laughter.

woronora cemetery. sydney

1 comment:

My little brother Brian Robert Williams is buried there in an unmarked grave. He was three years old in 1936 when he was run over by a red truck when I (4 years old) and he were crossing the Princes Highway Kirrawee.I never recovered as I felt I was blamed for not looking after him when we were going across the road to buy some lollies. I am now 81 years old.My grandmother Lucy Williams (Pike) was cremated there and the ashes are in an alcove in the wall near the crematorium. She was nineteen stone when she died.Old grandfather Harry (Henry Inglis Williams) is also buried there. He was a tough old bugger but I loved him anyway. He was a descendant of William Nash who came here as a marine with the First Fleet 1788.I want to be buried in this cemetery because I was a baby in a bush camp just below the cemetery gates in 1933. We got water from the cemetery tap at the corner of Ist Ave Loftus. However I am in Vancouver Canada and will be interred far from home. Cedric hector (Ric) Williams.

beach scene1929

Oh, down at the catching pen an old shearer stands,Grasping his shears in his long bony hands ;Fixed is his gaze on a bare belled ewe,Saying " If I can only get her, won't I make the ringer go."

Click goes his shears; click, click, click.Wide are the blows, and his hand is moving quick,The ringer looks round, for he lost it by a blow,And he curses that old shearer with the bare belled ewe.

At the end of the board, in a cane bottomed chair,The boss remains seated with his eyes everywhere ;He marks well each fleece as it comes to the screen,And he watches where it comes from if not taken off clean.

The "colonial experience" is there of course.With his silver buckled leggings, he's just off his horse ;With the air of a connoiseur he walks up the floor ;And he whistles that sweet melody, "I am a perfect cure."

"So master new chum, you may now begin,Muster number seven paddock, bring the sheep all in ;Leave none behind you, whatever you do,And then we'll say you'r fit to be a Jackeroo."

The tar boy is there, awaiting all demands,With his black tarry stick, in his black tarry hands.He sees an old ewe, with a cut upon the back,He hears what he supposes is--" Tar here, Jack."

"Tar on the back, Jack; Tar, boy, tar."Tar from the middle to both ends of the board.Jack jumps around, for he has no time to sleep,And tars the shearer's backs as well as the sheep.

So now the shearing's over, each man has got his cheque,The hut is as dull as the dullest old wreck ;Where was many a noise and bustle only a few hours before,Now you can hear it plainly if a pin fall on the floor.

The shearers now are scattered many miles and far ;Some in other sheds perhaps, singing out for "tar."Down at the bar, there the old shearer stands,Grasping his glass in his long bony hands.

Saying "Come on, landlord, come on, come !I'm shouting for all hands, what's yours--mine's a rum ;"He chucks down his cheque, which is collared in a crack,And the landlord with a pen writes no mercy on the back !

His eyes they were fixed on a green painted keg,Saying " I will lower your contents, before I move a peg."His eyes are on the keg, and are now lowering fast ;He works hard, he dies hard, and goes to heaven at last.

religions are myths.

http://www.religioustolerance.org/int_rel11.htm

"It appears to me (whether rightly or wrongly) that direct arguments against christianity and theism produce hardly any effect on the public; and freedom of thought is best promoted by the gradual illumination of men's minds which follows from the advance of science." [Darwin]

"If we believe absurdities, we shall commit atrocities." [Voltaire]

"I cannot imagine a God who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation, whose purposes are modeled after our own -- a God, in short, who is but a reflection of human frailty. Neither can I believe that the individual survives the death of his body, although feeble souls harbor such thoughts through fear or ridiculous egotism." [Einstein]

"Faith means not wanting to know what is true." [Nietzsche]

"I cannot believe in the immortality of the soul.... No, all this talk of an existence for us, as individuals, beyond the grave is wrong. It is born of our tenacity of life – our desire to go on living … our dread of coming to an end." [Edison]

"The Bible is not my book nor Christianity my profession. I could never give assent to the long, complicated statements of Christian dogma." [Lincoln]

"Religion is a byproduct of fear. For much of human history, it may have been a necessary evil, but why was it more evil than necessary? Isn't killing people in the name of God a pretty good definition of insanity?" [Arthur C. Clarke]

"Religions are all alike – founded upon fables and mythologies." [Thomas Jefferson]

"Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith, I consider a capacity for it terrifying and absolutely vile." [Kurt Vonnegut]

"Religion is based . . . mainly on fear . . . fear of the mysterious, fear of defeat, fear of death. Fear is the parent of cruelty, and therefore it is no wonder if cruelty and religion have gone hand in hand. . . . My own view on religion is that of Lucretius. I regard it as a disease born of fear and as a source of untold misery to the human race." [Bertrand Russell]

The First Fleet of ships to carry convicts from England to Botany Bay sailed from ... of the First Fleet and lists the names of those who arrived at Botany Bay in 1788. ...David COLLINS (1754-1810), An Account of the English Colony in New...

1788. THE FIRST FLEET, BOTANY BAY AND THE BRITISH PENAL COLONY ... TheFirst Fleet of 11 ships, each one no larger than a Manly ferry, left ... After a voyage of three months the First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay on 24 January 1788.

With these words the logbook of HMS Sirius recorded the departure of what we know ...They were bound for Botany Bay, there to establish the first European ... The fleetarrived at Teneriffe on 3 June 1787, three weeks after leaving England.

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